foodstuffs and of feedingstuffs following a nuclear accident or any other case of radiological

emergency (recast) (COM(2010)0184 – C7-0137/2010 – 2010/0098(COD))

Note

This report came out a month before the japan earthquake nuclear disaster. It made requirements of European countries to monitor and manage levels of contamination. Since Fukushima the European governments have covered up the large contamination incident in Hungary that has doomed many young people from around the Bucharest medical isotope institute, and others further downwind too. The IAEA was instrumental to this play down and cover up as were the main stream media. And the fallout from fukushima in Europe, though minor was not a minor health hazard as we were told to believe by the paid for university specialists. Also, the releases from hungary brought drinking water Pb210 lead contamination to above safety drinking standards in the uk according to a cached copy of a removed link to a USA military base in the UK (Milford Haven) no measurement for iodine isotopes of any sort, but the warning level was changed and a second reading was done a month later that mathched the new limit, just!

Here are some links you might not have seen that outline these hidden nuclear horrors.

Radiation risks from Fukushima ‘no longer negligible’

Published 11 April 2011, updated 12 April 2011

[…]

The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer “negligible,” according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against “risky behaviour,” such as consuming fresh milk or vegetables with large leaves.

[…]

CRIIRAD says its information note is not limited to the situation in France and is applicable to other European countries, as the level of air contamination is currently the same in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, for instance.

Data for the west coast of the United States, which received the Fukushima radioactive fallout 6-10 days before France, reveals that levels of radioactive iodine-131 concentration are 8-10 times higher there, the institute says.

I have taken the liberty of quickly editing the European report PDF for specific information. The link to the full Report is below.

Position of the Eueopean Parliament adopted at first reading on 15 February 2011 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No …/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of foodstuffs and of feedingstuffs following a nuclear accident or any other case of radiological emergency (recast)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 168(4)(b) thereof,

[Amendment 32]

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ( 1 ),EN C 188 E/80 Official Journal of the European Union 28.6.2012

[Amendment 3]

(3) On 2 February 1959, the Council adopted Directives ( 7 ) laying down basic safety standards, the text of which was replaced by that of Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation ( 8 ). Article 50(2) of that Directive requires Member States to stipulate intervention levels in the event of accidents.

(4) Following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station on 26 April 1986, considerable quantities of radioactive materials were released into the atmosphere, contaminating foodstuffs and feedingstuffs in several European countries to levels significant from a health perspective. The soil was also contaminated by radioactive fallout, which increased the radioactivity of forest and agricultural foodstuffs obtained from the affected areas.

[Amendment 4]

(5) Measures were adopted ( 9 ) to ensure that certain agricultural products were only introduced into the Union according to the common arrangements which safeguard the health of the population while maintaining the unified nature of the market and avoiding deflections of trade.

(6) A high level of human health protection is one of the objectives the Union is to achieve when defining and implementing its policies. Article 168(4)(b) TFEU provides for the adoption of common measures in the veterinary field, the direct objective of which is the protection of human health. Member States are responsible for monitoring compliance with the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination laid down in this Regulation, namely through the surveillance of the safety standards of foodstuffs and feedingstuffs.

[Amendment 6]

(8) The Commission is to be informed of a nuclear accident or of unusually high levels of radioactivity according to Council Decision 87/600/Euratom of 14 December 1987 on Community arrangements for the early exchange of information in the event of radiological emergency ( 1 ), or under the IAEA Convention of 26 September 1986 on early notification of a nuclear accident.

(9) The Commission should ▐ immediately apply the pre-established maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination to a particular situation following a nuclear accident or radiological emergency.

[Amendment 7]

(10) The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU in respect of the adaptation to technical progress of the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of foodstuffs and feedingstuffs, and of the list of minor foodstuffs. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

[Amendment 9]

(11) The maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination should be regularly revised to take due account of the latest scientific advances and advice as presently available on an international scale, to reflect the need for reassuring the public and to provide it with a high level of protection and avoid divergences in international regulatory practice.

[Amendment 10]

(12) Levels of radioactivity caused by contamination following a nuclear accident or any other case of radiological emergency should be taken into account in conjunction with the natural levels of radioactivity already present which might themselves exceed the safety limits established.

[Amendment 11]

(13) Annexes I, II and III should take into account the effect of the partial decay of radioactive isotopes during the shelf life of preserved foodstuffs. Depending on the type of contamination, for example contamination with iodine isotopes, the radioactivity of preserved foodstuffs should be constantly monitored.

[Amendment 28]

4. The Commission shall, by March 2012, submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the appropriateness of a mechanism for compensating farmers whose foodstuffs have been contaminated beyond the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination and therefore cannot be placed on the market. Such a mechanism should be based on the polluter-pays principle. The report shall, if appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal setting up such a mechanism.

▐

[Amendment 29]

2. That report shall in particular examine the compliance of the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination with the effective dose limit of 1 mSv/y for members of the public under the conditions laid down in Directive 96/29/Euratom and shall consider the possible inclusion of additional relevant radionuclides in Annex I and III. In assessing those maximum permitted levels, the report shall focus on the protection of the most vulnerable population groups, in particular children, and examine whether it would be appropriate to set maximum permitted levels for all categories of the population on that basis.

…… ( 5 ) Liquid foodstuffs as defined in the heading 2009 and in chapter 22 of the combined nomenclature. Values are calculated taking into account consumption of tap-water and the same values should be applied to drinking water supplies at the discretion of competent authorities in Member States. ( 6 ) Carbon 14, tritiumand potassium 40 are not included in this group.

ANNEX II

List of minor foodstuffs

For the minor foodstuffs set out in this Annex, the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination to be applied are

“10 times”

those applicable to ‘other foodstuffs except minor foodstuffs’ set out in Annex I. CN code

Garlic (fresh or chilled))

Truffles (fresh or chilled)

Capers (fresh or chilled)

Capers (provisionally preserved, but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption)

Truffles (dried, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared)

Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with high starch or inulin content, fresh or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets; sago pith

Peel of citrus fruit or melons (including watermelons), fresh, frozen, dried or provisionally preserved in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions CN code

Pepper of the genus Piper; dried or crushed or ground fruits of the genus Capsicum or of the genus Pimenta

Flour, meal and powder of sago or of roots or tubers of heading No 0714

Manioc (cassava) starch

Hop cones, fresh or dried, whether or not ground, powdered or in the form of pellets; lupulin

Plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits), of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered

Vegetable saps and extracts; pectic substances, pectinates and pectates; agar-agar and other mucilages and thickeners, whether or not modified, derived from vegetable products

Fats and oils and their fractions, of fish or marine mammals, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified

Caviar and caviar substitutes

Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted

Cocoa shells, husks, skins and other cocoa waste

Cocoa paste, whether or not defatted

Truffles (prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid)

Vegetables, fruit, nuts, fruit-peel and other parts of plants, preserved by sugar (drained, glacé or crystallized)

Yeasts (active or inactive); other single-cell micro-organisms, dead (but not including vaccines of heading No 3002); prepared baking powders

Provitamins and vitamins, natural or reproduced by synthesis (including natural concentrates), derivatives thereof used primarily as vitamins, and intermixtures of the foregoing, whether or not in any solvent

Essential oils (terpeneless or not), including concretes and absolutes; resinoids; extracted oleoresins; concentrates of essential oils in fats, in fixed oils, in waxes or the like, obtained by enfleurage or maceration; terpenic by-products of the deterpenation of essential oils; aqueous distillates and aqueous solutions of essential oils

EN C 188 E/88 Official Journal of the European Union 28.6.2012 Tuesday 15 February 2011

( 1 ) These maximum permitted levels are intended to contribute to the observance of the maximum permitted levels for foodstuffs; they do not alone guarantee such observance in all circumstances and do not lessen the requirement for monitoring contamination levels in animal products destined for human consumption. ( 2 ) These maximum permitted levels apply to feedingstuffs as ready for consumption.